The 3D Art & Design Annual Volume 1

196 Pages·2015·49.12 MB·English

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Welcome to
3D Art
The
& Design
A N N U A L
The world of 3D art and design grows exponentially every year and has been doing so for a
long time now. Whether it’s in the modelling, texturing and real-time rendering you see in
videogames, the blockbuster visual efects you see in movies, the clever invisible efects that are
the building blocks of many TV shows or anything in between, the impact of developments in
the visual efects industry can be easily identified throughout the entertainment, product design
and medical fields. Whether you’re a professional working in the industry, a student or
enthusiast, or just interested in the limitless possibilities that computer graphics present, The 3D
Art & Design Annual – brought to you by the team behind 3D Artist magazine – is packed full of
expert tutorials for you to absorb, written by some of the greatest artists in the field and covering
every aspect of the 3D production pipeline from concept to the final render. On top of this, we’ve
provided you with an astonishing assortment of free 3D resources for you to download, including
hours of video tuition, 3D models to use in your work and much more.

3D Art
The
& Design
A N N U A L
Imagine Publishing Ltd
Richmond House
33 Richmond Hill
Bournemouth
Dorset BH2 6EZ
(cid:8) [phone]
Website: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
Twitter: @Books_Imagine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImagineBookazines
Publishing Director
Aaron Asadi
Head of Design
Ross Andrews
Editor
Steve Holmes
Senior Art Editor
Greg Whitaker
Assistant Designer
Harriet Knight
Cover image
Fausto De Martini
Printed by
William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Distributed in the UK, Eire & the Rest of the World by:
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Disclaimer
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the
post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this bookazine may
be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are
recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the bookazine has
endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change.
This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
The 3D Art & Design Annual © 2015 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 9781785461675
Part of the
bookazine series
08
Behind the software
Modelling Texturing Rigging &
Animation
18 Master facial anatomy 60 Resurrect a realistic Velociraptor
26 Sculpt a bloodsucking vampire 66 Next-gen texturing with Naughty Dog
100 Build a quick rig for videogames
32 Create sci-fi details 68 Texture distinct steampunk characters
104 Pose a sculpt using joints
34 Design a hard surface helmet 76 Create realistic scarring
108 Animate a liquid metal logo
42 Model and texture crystals 78 Model and texture a Roman Centurion
110 Rigging with FK and IK
44 Create a convincing cartoon character 86 Texture a realistic superbike
114 Use Set Driven Keys to rig a hand
52 Scatter a scene in Houdini 94 Texture an antique pocket watch
118 Hand-drawn style animation
56 Master ZModeler and Array Mesh
120 Animate a jellyfish
Visual Effects
122 Animate a robot battle scene
18
132 Create abstract particle renders
Lighting &
136 Master a particle effects system
140 Create a tornado effect Rendering
144 Disintegrate a model
150 Set up a lighting rig in Blender
146 An introduction to Bifröst
154 Render still life with Blender and Cycles
26
162 Render realistic glass in Corona
166 Create comic book style renders
172 Simulate macro photography
176 Blend photos and 3D realistically
184 Render still life with RenderMan
6
162 60
32
68
132
34
7
3D ART & DESIGN ANNUAL FEATURE
INSIDE
THE
SOFTWARE
We interview the developers behind the
leading CG software used to create
everything from Oscar-winning feature
films to stunning games graphics
Going from computers that took up entire
rooms and were capable of only the
crudest of CG images, to the personal
workstations of today that run software so
powerful that anyone can create animations in
their own home, has been no easy feat. It has
taken many years and the dedicated work of
thousands of artists who are, even today, pushing
the limits of what computer graphics are capable of.
However, while we may see a list of modellers’
and animators’ names scroll past during a film’s
credits , the software developers themselves are
often notably absent. Yet, it’s thanks to their
pioneering work that any of this has been achieved
at all. Though we rarely think about it, we likely see
something created using the software they’ve
developed every single day of our lives.
To find out more about the people behind the
tools, we spoke directly to the developers of the
world’s leading CG programs, learning how they go
about creating and building this new, incredible
technology that stands as the artist’s latest, most
highly sophisticated paintbrush.
Interviewees
Autodesk Blender Side Effects The Foundry
Trevor Adams Foundation Software Matt Plec TMimayea M, macehnitnael wraays a mnda dPeh uotsoinsgh op by
Gordon Bradley Campbell Barton Ed Lam Simon Robinson Aleksandr Kuskov, www.behance.net/AleksCG
Maurice Patel
8
INSIDE THE SOFTWARE
The Holy Grail for a designer is
developing something that is easy to
learn, but challenging to master
Trevor Adams, Senior user experience
designer at Autodesk
9
3D ART & DESIGN ANNUAL FEATURE
as software developers, but a lot of the ideas and I remember when we announced that we’d
Autodesk suggestions for new features really do come signed a deal with Disney for XGen and everyone
straight from the artists. was asking where it was and why it wasn’t in the
Bio Founded in 1982 by John Walker and Dan Drake,
Autodesk is a world leader in 3D design, engineering I think that when you look at the strength of 2015, next release. It takes years of work to make these
and entertainment. Autodesk delivers products that it really has come out of asking people how we can tools user-friendly – there’s actually a lot of
aid in the work of over 10 million customers, and has improve the software. From there, we explore, we expertise involved in taking these technologies and
been included in Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies
prototype, we play with a few options and we get making them better suited for a broader audience
to Work For. Along with the popular 3D software
Maya, Autodesk also produces tools such as its feedback on them to work out the best way to rather than just specialists within huge companies.
fl agship computer-aided design software, AutoCAD tackle implementing each new feature. It really is a
Software Maya, 3ds Max, Mudbox, Softimage great process and I think that’s something Autodesk What are your main goals when working on
Known for Having developed software that has been
has been getting right for a long time – working out software such as Maya?
used in many Academy Award winners for Best
how to involve the artist and the community all the Trevor Adams The Holy Grail for a designer is
Visual Ef ects. Recognised by the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with two Scientifi c way through development. That’s kind of what developing something that is easy to learn, but
and Technical Achievement Awards for Mudbox and leads us, I believe, to some of the really strong challenging to master. It’s like picking up a musical
FiLMBOX, the foundation of Autodesk line-ups that we have today. instrument like a guitar: you can quickly just strum
MotionBuilder. Autodesk scientists and technologies
away at some cords and make some noise.
have been similarly recognised in past Scientifi c and
Technical awards ceremonies Can you tell us a little about tools such as Gordon Bradley This is something we’ve said in
Interviewees Trevor Adams Senior user experience Mudbox and XGen? What do you need to do Maya for a long time – our job is to hide the maths.
designer. Has been working at Autodesk for eight when you take on technology like this to get That’s what it comes down to. Over Maya’s history
years in several roles, and started as a quality
it into the hands of artists? that’s what we’ve constantly been trying to do. Hide
assurance specialist testing the software
Maurice Patel The thing is, with technologies such the maths and let the artist focus on what they want
Gordon Bradley Senior software architect. Has been
working at Autodesk for over a decade as Mudbox, which actually came out of production to focus on, which is really telling a story, whether
Maurice Patel Entertainment industry manager technology in Weta, and XGen, which was it’s fi lm, television or game.
production technology in Disney, is that very often
our big customers will develop a toolset which is What have been the main challenges and
How do you decide what features to put in highly specialised, but it’s not at all user-friendly. successes of your job developing Autodesk’s
your latest software releases? They’re often very interested in getting this solutions over the years?
Gordon Bradley I think that we defi nitely have technology into the hands of other artists, so we Maurice Patel Honestly, you could write a book
creative freedom to explore future ideas ourselves partner with them to help them. about it! Ultimately one of the things that we’re very
proud of is that we’ve had a lot of successes. I mean,
we’ve won seven Academy Awards for the
THE PERKS OF THE JOB technology, whether it’s Maya, Flame, or Mudbox
“Defi nitely,” agrees Trevor Adams, senior user
experience designer. “You do feel like you’re part of it, and MotionBuilder.
“I think the biggest reward for me is hearing from even though you’re essentially behind the scenes. Even The challenges are many. When you’re a
artists,” says Gordon Bradley, senior software architect reading articles like in 3D Artist about the new features technology developer and people want new things,
at Autodesk. “When they’ve picked up a tool that you that are coming out is rewarding in itself, to realise that we have to really balance supporting what we
were a part of and they talk about what they did with it it’s real, it’s in the application and it’s no longer being
would call legacy versus developing something new.
and how much better it made their working life, that’s tested. To have so much positive feedback inspires you
We did this in Flame – it had a very distinctive
why I’m here. It never fails to make me smile, especially to work even harder because people are paying
if they don’t know that you worked on it.” attention and appreciating it.” user interface. All the buttons were placed in very
specifi c areas and were designed to be driven with a
“I’ve been here for 12
years now,” says
Gordon Bradley. “It’s
been amazing to do all
of the stuf that I love”
“We have to make a lot of business decisions
around what we can do because we have fi nite
resources. We can’t cater to every single
person’s need, so we try and balance what the
majority think the real problems are,” explains
Autodesk’s Maurice Patel
10